Nothing like a Friday afternoon to examine six volumes of law & technology statistics from the ABA. I was somewhat amused when I accessed their page and discovered that they’d received an endorsement – from yours truly. Somebody apparently liked something I said about last year’s survey and quoted me.
The ABA provided me with some excerpts, so I reviewed them and picked out a few that I thought would be of interest.
E-READERS
Ten
percent of survey respondents report the availability of e-book readers at
their firms. Solo respondents are most likely to report their availability
(16%), while large firm respondents are least likely (4%).
WINDOWS 7 vs. VISTA
Usage of newly released Windows 7 (9%) has
already surpassed that of Vista (8%, compared with 9% in 2009 and 4% in 2008)
as the second most frequently reported operating system on respondents’ primary
computers.
METADATA
Metadata removal software is available at 59% of
respondents’ firms, up from 46% in the 2009 survey. Large firm respondents
report the highest availability (92%, up from 86% in the 2009 survey), followed
by respondents from firms of 10-49 attorneys (64%, up from 51% in the 2009
survey). This increase in availability in metadata removal software is likely
due to the numerous ethics opinions addressing sender’s responsibility
regarding metadata exposure.
VIRTUAL OFFICE
When asked whether they have a virtual law
office/virtual law practice (i.e., do not typically meet with clients in
person, and primarily interact with clients using Internet-based software and
other electronic communications software), fourteen percent of respondents
responded affirmatively. Of counsel and solo respondents were most likely to
report having a virtual law office/virtual law practice (27% and 19%
respectively).
SOCIAL NETWORKS
When asked whether they personally maintain a
presence in an online community/social network such as Facebook, LinkedIn,
LawLink, or Legal OnRamp, overall, 56% of respondents answered affirmatively,
compared with 43% in the 2009 survey and 15% in the 2008 survey.
WESTLAW vs. LEXISNEXIS
Eighty percent of respondents (compared with 88%
in 2009) report using fee-based online resources to conduct legal research.
Fifty-four percent of respondents report using Westlaw most often (compared
with 61% in the 2009 survey), followed by LexisNexis (32%, compared with 28% in 2009).